Cons:

This is the way the end of the world began: not with a whimper, but a bang. After six years of expansions and level increases, the two oldest continents in the World of Warcraft faded into pale, forgotten shadows of their former glory -- rarely visited, save for the obligatory auction house check-in. The multitude of quests suffered from over-familiarity and repetition, visuals that awed in 2004 seemed outdated, and Blizzard had lost one of its greatest lore assets with the death of the Lich King. It was time, in short, for a change of cataclysmic proportions.

Cue the bang. Shortly after server maintenance on November 23, 2010, a colossal wave of devastation altered much of WoW two oldest continents in the wake of the mad dragon Deathwing's escape from his subterranean prison. Surprisingly, this was a good thing. Neglected zones such as Westfall and Darkshore, long known for tedious "fetch-me" quests and repetitive scenery, suddenly became must-see treasures. Hundreds of new quests suddenly assumed a fresh cinematic vitality, and the streamlined story-based leveling experience chronicled your rise from average Joe to savior of the world. New race and class combinations emerged, and both the user interface and talent system received major overhauls. And the best thing: It was all completely free for all subscribers, regardless of which expansions they owned. Most importantly, it worked.

And this all took place two full weeks before the expansion's release. The most visible everyday changes in the boxed product itself are the playable Worgen and Goblin races (for the Alliance and Horde factions, respectively), each with their own unique starting zones that topple all previous starting experiences. For Worgen, it's Gilneas -- a perpetually gloomy Victorian peninsula hammered by an undead invasion and a strange curse that turns its citizens into vicious werewolves. The funky Goblin starting zone is almost the opposite; here, insatiably greedy green-skinned opportunists race up and down highways in garish hot rods -- robbing banks, cracking jokes, and stealing art.

Inventive starter zones aside, the expansion content begins with five new endgame zones for levels 80 up to the new cap of 85. In the underwater spans of Vashj'ir, adventurers dart about on giant seahorses amid sunken ruins and cranky shellfish. In the long-awaited vistas of Mount Hyjal, players defend the world tree Nordrassil from the ravages of fire elementals and the Black Dragonflight. Deep below the swirling Maelstrom, players repair the shattered "World Pillar" that threatens to pull Azeroth into the abyss. In the desert wastes of Uldum, adventurer Harrison Jones (and whoever will go with him) trashes sacred architecture to find legendary artifacts The only dubious locale is the Twilight Highlands -- here, feisty mountain dwarves known as the Wildhammer Clan battle the forces of evil in crumbling hillside villages that bear an unmistakable resemblance to Tolkien's Shire. The Highlands don't offer much for riveting exploits, though even this zone has its standouts, including a disturbing Lovecraftian tentacle maw and one of the most memorable wedding sequences in video game history.

All this flies by at a pace that could easily leave your shiny new level 85 Goblin dancing in low-quality gear in a week or two. Heaps of experience, loot, and gold shower your character, and the world changes endlessly through phasing technology as you complete missions. If you ever played through the Death Knight starter quests in Wrath of the Lich King, you have a good idea of what to expect here on a worldwide basis. Quest NPCs are never far from their objectives, and if you stray, a cut-scene often plops you back to the quest-giver to speed things up. Overall, these are good changes. On one hand, they eliminate the hours of travel once needed to turn in a quest from the other side of the world; on the other hand, the breezy pace robs some of WoW's wonder. Curiously, the streamlined process comes to an awkward halt between levels 58 and 78 when players enter Outland and Northrend, the untouched epicenters of the last two expansions. Outland's tedious old-style gathering quests sting like a whip to the face after the exciting ride of quests in the new old world.